To think to enjoy camping you need to invest in the best and it’s a huge risk

[Raspberryberetthekindyoufind]

Just that really. I went camping in my early adulthood and hated it- small tent, shit facilitates, bucket for toilet etc
A few years ago my husband persuaded me to try it again and I said yes on the basis we would spend some of his bonus on getting decent stuff so we got
Blow up big tent which goes up in ten minutes with porch and lots of storage plus had a put up extra bedroom you can use a toilet cubical. Also bedroom are covered in black out material.
Portable flushing toilet with bags that you just take out and dispose of
Extra ground footprint
Extra roof protective sheet
Extra indoor roof liner to stop condensation

Tent carpet
Amazing thick comfy blow up beds
Inflatable sofa and chairs
Put up clothes storage unit
Storage rack for porch for shoes, toys etc
2 other fold up storage boxes

Tent Lighting unit
Good camping stove plus kitchen unit for it to sit on
Fire pit
Thick sleeping bags that can be used as a quilt of if like me you need your legs to be free
And the most important thing/ the best most expensive earplugs that don’t let a dam thing through
Also always go to a campsite with electric hook ups so you can charge phones, plug in a hairdryer etc (some people even bring a telly)
The reason I am posting this is to say I understand people’s misery and I used to think have all singing and all dancing camping stuff would be useless but it really does make a difference.
unfortunately it means a big outlay as well at the beginning
We took the risk and it payed off. I now love it and have been converted but it so could have gone the other way.

Just wondering if anyone agrees or disagrees with me

To the toilet/bucket haters

I've got one because I'm a single parent and don't want to leave the kids on their own when I need the loo in the night.

If one of them needs a week, I don't have to take them out and and leave the other one asleep.

Mostly though, it's because I hate going to the toilet block in the middle of the night, especially when it's raining, when there's a much easier option.

*wee

I don’t agree with your list. Your list basically screams that you hate the actual camping and just want it to be like home! Hairdryer? Inflatable sofa?

I think we camp in pretty good conditions and we take hardly anything compared to you.

We have:
-Tent you can stand up in with a porch

• A folding camp chair for everyone
• Folding table
• Single ring has burner but to be fair a 2 ring would be better with the family. This just sits on the table. I do quick and easy meals.
• We use cheap massive picnic rugs instead of expensive tent carpet
• We take duvets and pillows, didn’t buy new sleeping bags
• me and DH have a memory foam mattress topper and the kids have cheap single air beds.
• take lots of Ikea bags for storage
• the cooking and food stuff gets packed into those plastic tubs with lids so it’s not accessible to wildlife and also is an extra surface if needed
• head torch for everyone plus a lantern
• cool bag. I will admit to wanting to buy the inflatable cool bag from decathalon but am resisting as my old one is fine.

I don’t shit it in but I have kidney problems that mean I need to go about 6 times a night.

Ok phew. It sounded like it was for poo with the talk of liners!!!

Op, I’m sure you’re right but packing and unpacking all that stuff sounds exhausting. Might as well buy a caravan.

I don't get why people spend all that money on stuff to go camping though. The closer it is to a hotel room, surely the better off you are paying for a hotel room? Especially considering the fact that if you're spending thousands, it would be cheaper to stay in a B'n'B somewhere. My impression of camping is going to get a bit closer to nature and all that. (Sounds like my idea of hell personally so please correct me if I'm wrong).

One of the best bits of camping is sitting out the front of your tent at the end of a day out, preferably with a glass of wine, while the kids scoot up and down, or run around playing with the other kids on site. It's worth it just for that tbh.

What tent do you have op? It sounds good

We've just bought a new (to us) trailer tent - and yes, it was expensive. But there are loads of people who spend that amount on a week away and have nothing to show at the end of it, wheras we'll have it to use over and over. Our last trailer tent got sold for £50 less than we bought it for 4 years before.

I don't want to stay in a b&b, I love sitting out round a fire, watching the kids haring about, floating about in the lake and generally being outside. The fact that at night I sleep under my down duvet on a memory foam mattress takes nothing away from the experience!

By the time you've bought all that surely you could afford a camper van or narrow boat which can be let to others to recoup cost?

You're talking to a woman who goes camping with a cowskin rug and sparkly cushions.

We've used our big bell tent several times a year since I bought it ten years ago. It still looks brand new and I love it so much. Lives under the bed because it is far too lovely to go in the loft. We also have a huge canopy, good folding camp chairs, various poles so the canopy can take multiple guises, a cadac cooker, several indian throws for atmos, bunting, solar lights, inflatable coolboxes, table that can be a dining table of a low one, every style of peg going and a round inflatable sofa!

Never got the sleeping right though - I've been through various options: blow ups, sims alone, camp beds, camp beds with sims, ready beds... This year I'm trying out an inflatable bed with sims on top then a quilted mattress protector. I suspect that I actually need something independent of the snoring husband to get really comfy.

I love camping... but I only camp for long holidays in France or in the UK if guaranteed sunshine - so if the weekend looks good we will go. A wet week in Norfolk where the highlight was touring the Hemsby mega maze in the pissing rain put me off booking ahead in the UK.

Sitting outside my tent, under the stars, drinking wine and reading is one of my favourite things to do.

Oh my word, DH and I are flabbergasted, tent carpet? Blow up sofas? That's not camping! .... But then again we're used to doing mountain marathons which are deliberately awful, in the past I have slept on bubble wrap, at one event I got hypothermia and last year at the OMM some of the portaloos blew over in the wind. Pleasant. I'm pretty jealous of your set up.

I'm glad for you OP that you're enjoying it, camping is a lot of fun! I wish you many a happy camping trip in the future.

We have a bell tent too. Was perfect when I could take two lambs wool mattresses to sleep on as a king sized bed but now we need a bigger space as so many of us.

I want to get an awning ASAP but I need a better bed to sleep in.

So I think we will combine our need for more storage for camping stuff with a moving bed (caravan)

Yeap I agree .Just brought a bigger tent for year as our DC's are older and We need more room .We love camping as a family go every year .Love sitting round the fire pit toasting marshmallows,no tv .DC's love it .We go our favourite family campsite which has loo's shower block with hairdyer ,that is my one luxury. But Yeap we do love camping. The initial outlay is quite dear if you want a decent tent and all the kit .We are going soon and I can't wait .

For this year

As I said camping just on mats and having one camp chair between us is not an option for me as I would end up in agony. If I am in pain I need to get up at night so the sofa is great to sit on and I can sometimes drop off on it. I explained the toliet as well.
The best bit is sitting there with a glass of wine in the evening and watching DS play and later the stars.
The cold really effects my fibro and so does condensation so hence why we have the extra bits to go on and under the tent.
I wish a could buy a narrow boat or camper van for the cost of the camping stuff which is estimate as under a grand as we have we got the tent half price as it was an x display model and we got a lot of stuff given as Christmas gifts and second hand (which ok I should have said).
It’s a Vango Rivendale 800

We did carfest this year it was amazing.

I want that tent!

Sorry but I think camping is shite.
Tried it several times and hated it. Too cold/hot, uncomfortable, crap toilet facilities, shit food, no plugs for anything, hairdryer etc. You wake up feeling like total bollocks every day, and that to me ain’t no holiday

Horses for courses, really. I am not a 'natural' camper; the first 4 or 5 times I went I barely slept a wink, but once I'd done it a few times it got much easier to sleep. More than about 3 nights gets a bit much for me, but as long as it's a tent with a central, non-sleeping space you can stand up in, I find it pretty manageable in decent weather (still totally miserable if it rains, though).

Always camped in places with their own loos, so felt no need to bring one.

Your lust reminded me why I prefer a hotel, much cheaper!

I camp through necessity at remote sports events. I turn up in my trailer with the horse. He gets out and I make him a little paddock out of 8 posts and a bit of electric tape, I sweep out the trailer and hang my hammock up, and that's it. I'm set for the night! I have a 4 seasons under hammock and a 4 seasons sleeping bag, a single ring micro gas burner and an Iceytek box. That lot, plus a bottle opener is all I need!

I’ve just been camping twice, first time with others in a large six man tent and last weekend with my son and dog in a small 2 man tent, travelling super light on all fronts.
Much preferred less is more - was sooo much easier!!
However this only works with the amazing sunshine we’ve had in the UK.im only a fair weather camper

Loving this thread! I'm from an outdoorsy country where camping is what you do to be able to appreciate parts of nature that wouldn't be accessible in any other way, like hiking in the mountains/forest etc. That means carrying everything in/on your backpack.

What I call "British" camping, meaning taking a lot of clobber with you to "have it like home" in a field with a pub within walking distance, is to me a mystery. We do it every year to spend time with friends, but I still don't get the concept. It's not any difference from camping in our garden, really. 😊

Good camping stuff is expensive which is why I'd rather spend it on a B&B. Camping in nature and you can't bring all that stuff, anyway. 😊

When I started camping, 20 yrs ago, I had a 2 man tent, roll mat, sleeping bag, burner, kettle, mug. LOts of tea and red wine. My first ever camping trip I didn’t even have a torch, so we were sat in the dark from 9pm. I used to go to festivals, led dofe expeditions, just pop to the Peak District after work on a friday. I love it. Waking up and having your coffee in the outdoors. Fresh air and going to sleep with the sound of rain on your tent. When I had kids, I found that I needed to lug a lot more stuff about: travel cots, pushchairs, tables, high chairs, better cooking facilitie, toys. I spent a few years so frustrated we couldn’t just jump in the car and drive off somewhere, but had to spend days planning and packing. Last year we bought a caravan, so we are able to hook it up and drive off.